A late goal by Brent McGrath, who capitalised on an error by Antun Kovacic, proved to be the difference.

The Knights defender misread the bounce of the ball and failed to bring it under control, gifting McGrath a one-on-one with Chris May. The former Adelaide United striker made no mistake, burying the ball in the net.

Knights could consider themselves unlucky to come away from the contest with no points, after putting in a solid performance throughout the 90 minutes only to be undone by one error.

The visitors had the better of the play in the early stages of the contest, creating numerous chances.

Bentleigh, however, worked it’s way back into the contest and could have taken the lead when Liam McCormick squared the ball across the face of goal for Brent McGrath. Luckily for Knights, Sam Torrens was alert to the situation and put in a last-ditch tackle to deny the home side.

On a sour note for the visitors, Torrens was forced off the field in the 67th minute after tweaking the hamstring he injured in the warm up ahead of the Oakleigh game in Round 8.

Quite remarkably, despite a number of chances for both sides, the scores remained locked at 0-0 at half time.

Just four minutes after the break, Brent McGrath had the ball in the net, only for the goal to be ruled out by the assistant’s flag for offside.

David Stirton was the next to go close to opening the scores, when his well-struck free kick in the 61st minute beat May but not the right upright, bouncing away for Michael Simms to clear.

For the visitors, Daniel Visevic, who has been in fine form in recent weeks, should have scored in the 64th minute. Capitalising on a poor goal kick by Alistair Bray, Visevic was afforded a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper, but hit the post.

As the full time whistle approached and the match seemed destined for a 0-0 draw, Kovacic’s error and McGrath’s subsequent goal proved to be decisive.

Melbourne Knights’ next match is away to Northcote City next Sunday, 22 June. Kick off at John Cain Reserve is at 3pm.